TAIWANESE veteran Lin Wen-tang won the first-ever Solaire Open yesterday after responding with aplomb to the challenge of Wack Wack East’s last three holes, where he needed to produce shots that were nothing short of magnificent.
The 40-year-old played that treacherous stretch par-birdie-par, with his save on the 18th from about 12 feet, sealing a one-over 73 and his sixth Asian Tour victory by a shot over Sriroj Thammanoon of Thailand.
Counting rounds of 69, 73 and 70, Lin tallied 285 over the traditional, heavily-wooded layout, breaking out a roar while raising his arms in triumph after calmly rolling in that winning putt in front of a good-sized gallery that followed the final flight.
“I mentioned yesterday (after the third round) that if God loves me, He will let me win again,” said Lin, who admitted to Lady Luck being on his side after one-putting each of the last three holes, including the 17th from about 25 feet after pulling out what looked like an impossible approach over tall trees.
Sriroj failed to take the tournament to sudden death after missing the 18th green and drawing a very awkward stance for his third shot. With his feet inside the left greenside bunker, the Thai chipped way off the mark, his closing bogey giving him a similar 73.
Canadian Richard Lee shared second place with Sriroj after shooting a 69 and Korea’s Wang Jeung-hun was fourth at 287 also after a 69.
Elmer Salvador, the taciturn Filipino who teed off just two strokes behind Lin, scrambled to a 74 and finished solo fifth at level 288, with Mars Pucay and Miguel Tabuena climbing into a sixth place tie with Gunn Charoekul of Thailand and Unho Park of Australia at 289 after shooting 71 and 72, respectively.
Tabuena flirted with the lead early in his round when he picked up three shots in his first five holes. But he shot himself on the foot with a triple bogey 6 on the eighth.
First-round leader Dodge Kemmer of the United States, who made heads turn with an opening 66, fired a 74 and finished tied for 10th with Korea’s Hsu Mong-han, who shot a 73, and Thailand’s Pawin Ingkhapradit, who closed with a 76, at 290.
Jay Bayron wound up alone in 18th spot at 292 after a 72, with Antonio Lascuna and Carl Santos-Ocampo sharing 19th place with four foreigners at 293 after firing a 69 and 73, respectively.
Lin started the day with a one-shot lead over Sriroj but was two-behind the Thai heading into the closing three holes. /inquirer